Julius Fucik

Although Julius Fucik is best known for his Entry of the Gladiators
march, recent popularity polls among band directors indicate a preference for
his Florentiner march, subtitled Grand March Italiana.
The length and content of this march lead one to believe that, like Sousa with
his Free Lance March, Fucik must have tried to condense an operetta
into a march.
The march opens with a short bugle fanfare, then proceeds directly into a
strain of repeated notes which sound like a flighty Florentine signorina
chattering to her gentleman friend from Berlin who only has time to answer a
two-note “ja-wohl!” occasionally.
The march continues with another fanfare; a light, floating trio melody; an
interlude; and a triumphant repeat with a challenging piccolo part.